Hi Everyone!
It has been a while since I blogged about a technique and many of you are new followers, so after viewing this question on the popular “Panama Pyramids” Stitching group on Face Book, I figured it was time to blog about the way I’m stitching this wildly popular piecing phenomena that is sweeping the quilting world by storm this summer.
To start I did stamp out my pieces using the triangle in the Sugar Loaf stamp set and the new Large Pyramid that I made to coordinate with the triangle.
The 2 triangles I used.
Most of you know that I plan the grain line when I develop my stamps. The lengthwise grain ALWAYS is aligned with the finger holds on the stamps.
The lengthwise grain is parallel to the selvage edge. That is where your finger holds on the wood should be positioned.
You will notice that when the pyramids are cut out, you will have a “flat top” to help you determine the grain line.
First set laid out and ready to sew! Notice the positions.
Those of you that have taken classes with me, KNOW I love to sequentially piece. That means sewing from piece to piece without stopping, except for back stitches! Here is a close up of the drawing that is included in the Large Sugar Loaf pyramid stamp.
This drawing is for a right handed person, a leftie would change the directions of the arrows.
Okay, got your single thickness quilting thread ready on your Richard Hemming sharp? Place a small knot at the end. Grab the first 2 adjacent pieces. (It really doesn’t matter where you start.)
Place a pin in the right corner, matching up the corner underneath. Place your needle in the right corner, matching up the corner underneath. Take a backstitch.
Sew up to the pin taking small stitches. When you reach the pin, take a backstitch and leave the needle “parked”.
Open your work to see your orientation.
Pick up the top triangle and place it right sides together. Drag your needle through to the corner of the top triangle.
Take a stitch, then a backstitch at this corner.
Place a pin at the left corner and stitch up to the pin. Take a backstitch and then pick up the last triangle and stitch it in place.
When you are finished, your pieced pyramid should look like this.
DO NOT PRESS!!!! I KNOW YOU WANT TO, BUT YOU CAN STRETCH OUT THE BIAS EDGES ON 2 SIDES.
Make 2 more pieced pyramids the same way and lay out with your large pyramid.
Front view.
When you turn them over, you will see I thought of everything! A reference line on the large triangle to make stitching the small triangles easy!
Back view.
Can you see you can stitch this sequentially, too? The reference mark will help to get perfect points.
Instead of placing your pin in the far left corner, place it at the reference mark before the seam.
Take a backstitch at the seam, pop up the seams, park your needle in the seam. Place a pin at the far left corner. Drag your needle through the seams to the other side, backstitch and continue stitching.
Popping up the seam allowances.
When you are done, your block should look like this…
Finished block.
Pressing instructions are in the pattern with the large Sugar Loaf triangle. I’ve also included the very large setting triangle in the pattern. You will need to make a template for this template as there is no way you can make a stamp 6″ tall. Your hands aren’t large enough to grab the wood.
You’ll be amazed how fast these stitch up! I made 6 of them the other day in less than 3 hours.
Some of my finished pyramids.
When I stamped out my pyramids from my scrap bag, I place all the pieces for one pieced block on a thread, backstitch between the blocks, and add another block. The “string” looks like this…
A few blocks on a “thread.”
Pull off one block and you are ready to sew!
Let’s make another one! Piecing these is like eating peanuts, you can’t stop at just one!
Get your Sugar Loaf set and Sugar Loaf pyramid here.
Until next time,
Happy “sequential” stitching!